Line marker



June 13, 1961 Original Filed Aug. 10, 1953 H. J. RYAN LINE MARKER 3Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. HEEL J RYAN June 13, 1961 H. J. RYAN 2,988,250

LINE MARKER Original Filed Aug. 10, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Pic. 4

E 9o W 51 f l a Q m I I I HEEL JPYAN IN V EN TOR.

wfwi ATTORNEY H. J. RYAN LINE MARKER June 13, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 3Original Filed Aug. 10, 1953 Fakwnno REYE'YSE IN VEN TOR. flz'eL J RYANPatented June 13, 1961 2,988,250 INE MARKER This invention relates to aline marking device of the type shown in my co-pending applicationSerial No. 373,- 135, filed August 10, 1953, issued as Patent No.2,771,223 on November 20, 1956, of which the present application is adivision.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved agitating assemblyin the mixing chamber of a hopper.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved gate typevalve for closing ofi the discharge opening in the hopper and forregulating the flow rate of marking powder through the dischargeopening.

A further object of the invention is to provide an actuating rod for thegatevalve which is mounted on the device in a novel manner so as to beadjustable for varying the position of the valve gate relative to thehopper discharge opening.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved carriageassembly for supporting the hopper relative to four ground wheels,wherein two of the frame members accommodate a novel gauge device,

Another object of the invention is to provide a oneway driving clutch inone pair of ground wheels having a free wheeling operation when the linemarking machine is wheeled in reverse, and becoming automaticallyengaged for actuation of the agitator when the machine is wheeled in aforward direction.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon examination ofthe following specification and appended three sheets of drawingsinwhich:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of my line marking machine;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary detail view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a framentary detail view taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view through the lower portion of the machine;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary detail view of the gate valve;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary detail view of the inner side of the right front(driving) wheel;

FIG. 7 is a detail sectional view of the central portion of the machine,taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 4.

The line marking machine includes generally a hopper A, a handle B, awheel assembly C, a frame D, an agitator assembly E, a gate valve F anda hand-grip assembly G,

The hopper includes an upper section 2 formed of sheet metal such assteel or aluminum and a lower section 3 which may overlap the mouthportion 4 of the upper section and be. secured thereto by screws 5. Thelower section preferably has opposed side walls 6 of wood and acontinuous strip of sheet metal conformed and secured to the margins ofthe side walls to define a discharge chamber at the bottom of thehopper. The lower section 3 has a semi-cylindric floor surface generatedfrom the axis of the agitator rotor 7.

The handle B comprises a shank 8 fixed to the rear Wall of the hopperand projecting upwardly beyond the upper end of the hopper. At the upperend of the shank 8, a pair of hand grips 9 and 10 are abutted againstgusset plates 11 which embrace the upper end of shank 8. A bolt 12extends through both hand grips, through gusset plates 11, through theupper end of handle shank 8, and bridges a slot 13 in the upper end ofshank 8. Gusset plates 11 lend rigidity to the overall hand gripassembly. The bolt 12 also serves as a trunnion on which the valvemanipulating lever 14 is pivoted. Lever 14 is embraced by the furcationsof handle shank 8 on opposite sides of slot 13, the latter beingdisposed in the vertical median plane of the longitudinal axis of shankB, whereby lever 14 is maintained in a vertical plane, for pivotalmovement on the transverse axis of bolt 12.

The hopper is supported above the four ground wheels by the framemembers D which include: a pair of metal bracing strips 15 anchored onopposite sides of the lower sections 3 by bolts 16; spacer bars 17 and18 which serve to maintain the rear wheels 19 and 20 in spaced relationto the front wheels 21 and 22 and diagonal bracing strips 23 and 24which are fixed to the rear axle 25 and to the respective braces 15 asby rivets or bolts 26. The braces 15 may be bent inwardly at 27 and thenupwardly to accommodate the braces 23, 24 and to provide extensions 28which are anchored to the lower end of the handle shank by bolt 29.

The side walls of the hopper may converge toward each other to form therather narrow but elongated discharge mouth 4 to which the lower section3 of the hopper is attached. The side walls 6 are preferablymaintainedparallel to each other and are provided with bushings 30 and 31 throughwhich the front axle 32 extends, the axle being rotatably carried bysaid bearings. Spacer sleeves 33 piloted on the axle maintain the frontwheels in spaced relation to the side walls 6 so that the wheels clearthe converging side walls of the upper section of the hopper-stabilityagainst lateral tipping of the machine also being accomplished. Washers34 take the end thrust on the wheel hubs.

Agitating apparatus, including rotor 7 and other parts indicated byreference numerals 35 through 68, and oneway drive mechanism therefor,indicated by reference numerals 69 through 76, form no part of thepresent in- Vention, and are accordingly not specifically describedherein.

The lower section 3 of the hopper is provided with a discharge opening78 in its floor area and a gate valve 79 is likewise provided with anopening 810. A pair of guide strips 81 and 82 are anchored to oppositesides of the lower section 3 of the hopper and exteriorly there of, saidstrips being parallel to each other and conformed to the rounded bottomof the hopper. Additional guide strips 83 likewise conform to therounded bottom of the hopper and serve to space the strips 81 and 82from the hopper wall, the strips 81 and 82 having their internalmarginal edges 84 and 85 overhanging the internal marginal edges 86 ofthe underneath strips. The gate valve is of thin sheet materialsufiiciently flexible to conform to the rounded contour of the hopperfloor and said valve is slidably received beneath the overhangingmarginal edges of strips 81 and 82 and between the marginal edges ofstrips 83. The rate of flow of the powder 87 through the dischargeopenings 78 and 80 is of course regulated by the extent to which suchopenings are brought into registry by manipulation of the gate valve.The gate valve is actuated by a rod 88 which in turn is actuatedrectilinearly of the handle shank 8 by swinging lever 14 about itssupporting trunnion 12. The rod 88 is piloted through an opening in aguide bracket 90 which is anchored to the lower end of the handle shankby means of a bolt 91, which bolt also anchors the U-bracket 57 to thehandle shank. A couplingsleeve 92 fixed to the end of rod 93 istelescoped over the end of rod 88 and secured thereto by a set screw 94.Viewing FIG. 2 the upper end of rod 93 has at its upper end an openingthrough which a removablepin 95 projects when such opening 'is inregistry with one of two pairs of openings 96 in the spaced legs of aclevis 97. The clevis 97 is suspended on a pivot pin 98 which is carriedby the lower end of valve'manipulating lever 14. When adjustment of thegate valve relative to the hopper floor is desired, it is only necessaryto withdraw pin 95-and re-insert it. after the opening in rod 93 isaligned with a new pair ofopenings 96 in the clevis 97.

Defined between the forward metering edge of gate 79 and the forwardedge of the narrow metering slot 80 is a closure portion of the gate inthe form of a transversely elongated strip of sufficient width to coverthe discharge slot 78, the forward edge of this strip functioning as ametering edge when the gate 79 is disposed in a rearward, wide-streammetering position and the said closure strip then functioning to closedown the dischargetslot 78 by forward movement and to open up thedischarge slot 78 by rearward movement. Through the above mentionedadjustment, the gate may be positioned either in this rearwardwide-stream metering position or in the forward narrow-stream meteringposition shown in FIG. 5, wherein the aforesaid closure strip isdisposed forwardly of the discharge slot 78 in all positions of meteringmovement thereof and metering action is effected by the rear edge ofslot 80, in variably spaced relation to the forward edge of slot 78,with the body of thegate 79 rearwardly of the slot 80 functioning as aclosure in this narrow-stream metering operation and with the sideportions of gate 79 at respective ends of slot 80, covering the ends ofslot 78 to restrict the width of the stream to the length of the slot80.

The parallel braces 17 and 18 serve to accommodate a line marked rod98', one of the braces having an angle bracket 99 (FIGS. 3 and 4).secured to its inner face.

' The gauge rod is extended through openings in the bracket 99 andbraces 17, 18 and a set screw 101 is threaded through bracket 99 toanchor the gauge rod in a preselected position of adjustment relativeto. the braces 17 and 18, it being understood that the screw 101.can beloosened to change the position of adjustment of the gauge rod asdesired. The gauge rod 98' has a downwardly projecting finger 102 whichmaybe caused to follow a guide line so as to guide the machine in a pathwhich will result in a pre-determined line being formed on the ground bythe powder discharged from the hopper of the machine as itv progressesalong such guided path.

In the operation of the machine the gauge rod 98 may or may not beemployed, and if employed, then the gaugerod is first adjusted so thatthe finger 102 is spaced a preselected distance outwardly from the sideof the machine. Then the initial adjustment of the gate valve iseffected by inserting the pin.95 into the desired pair. of openings 96.Then lever 14 is manipulated until..the desired extent of registrybetween discharge openings 78 and.80 is obtained. The gate valve willremain in the position selected by manipulation of lever-14 due to thefrictional contact of said valve with the hopper. floor and the guidestrips. Whenthe machine is wheeled in a forward direction the clutchpins 72 each engage one of the clutch teeth 71 and wheels 22 drive axle32. As the rotor 7 is rotated by axle 32, the transverse pins 41successively engage the apex 68 of the agitator tongue to raise andlower the tongue. Thus driving the forward movement of the machine, thetongue and associated carrier 44 are being constantly oscillated againstthe resistance of spring 67. As the apex 68 passes over each pin, itdrops rapidly into the pocket formed between adjacent pins, whereby thetongue 45 will effect an agitating action. An agitating action is alsoimparted by the carrier 44 for causing the powder in the hopper tocontinue to flow toward the floor of the hopper.

The above mentioned feature of cooperation between the respective endsurfaces of the driving pawls 72 and the respective faces of clutchteeth 71, simplifies the mannfacture of the clutch units by making itpossible to utilize simple cylindrical pins as the basic structure ofthe pawls, and to mount said pins in simple cylindrical bores withoutresorting to keys, keyways, etc. for restraining rotation. Restraint ofthe pawls from rotation is essential in order that the driving faces 74thereof may be always maintained in forwardly facing positions, forcorrect engagement with the driving faces 76 of the clutch teeth.

For limiting the extent movement of lever 14 (whereby to limit thedegreeof possible adjustment of valve plate 79. toward the open position froma position of maximum closure thereof) there is provided an adjustablestop consisting in a screw105 which is threaded through an L- shapedbracket 106 secured to the upper end of handle shaft B. Screw-105 has ahead at both ends, one to function as a' knob for manipulating thescrew, and the other, in normally spaced relation to lever 14, providinga broad surface against which the lever 14 may make abutting contact tolimit its movement.

Covering anduncovering the valve opening 78 in the bottom of hopper} iscontrolled by the rearward edge of slot 80 in gate valve 79 when thepush rod 93 is in extendedrelation to clevis 11 (with pin 95 coupled inthe .lower pair of openings 96 of the clevis as shown in FIG. 1)whereas, when the clevis and push, rod 93 are in close coupled relation(with pin 95 in the upper pair of openings96) the slot 80 will beinoperative and the forward edge of gate valve 79 will execute acut-olfaction .with reference to hopper aperture 78. [11 the lattercase,

the line which is deposited upon the ground, by the apparatuswill be amaximum width line determined by the longitudinal dimension of hopperaperture 78, whereas in the former case, the line will be a minimumwidth line determined by the shorter. longitudinal dimension of gateaperture 80. Thus the two positions of coupling between the upper endofrod 93 and clevis 11 determine the change-over from a narrow line to awide line and vice versa.

It-may further be pointed out that the function of adjustment screw 105,as it is adjusted from one setting to another, is to vary the extent ofopening of the dis charge. aperture, whereby to vary the rate of flowfrom the hopper, therebyvarying the depth of the layer of material whichis deposited upon the ground, to form the line. In this connection, itmay be noted that the normal operation of the, gate valve 79 will befrom a fully open to a fully closed position, so as to entirely out offthe flow of material whenever desired. The fully open position is avariable position, determined by the abutment of lever 14 against stopscrew 105. The fully closed position is a fixed position, determined bythe engagement of the forward edge of the downwardly projecting portionof lever 14 (immediately above pin 98) against the upper, rearward edgeof a stop plate 107 (FIG. 1)

which is fastened to the under side of handle shank B, bridging acrossthe rearportionof slot 13. InFIG. 1 the lever 14, is in engagement withthe stop plate 107 and thus in thev fixed limit position whichdetermines the full closing of gate valve 79. In FIG. 4, the gate valveis shown in the variable open position which is determined by theengagement of lever 14 against stop screw 105, in the position. .ofadjustment of the latter shown in FIG. 1. It will be apparent that byadjusting stop screw downwardly and forwardly from the position of FIG.1, a greater degree of opening of the discharge aperture will beprovided.

I claim:

Apparatus for selectively variable-width line-marking by deposition ofmarking powder upon a surface to. be marked, comprising: in combination:a hopper provided in its bottom with a transversely extending dischargeslot having a length determining the width of a relatively Wide line;guide, means extending fore-aft past the respective ends ofsaidslot; avalve gate having respective side portions slidably mounted in saidguide meansfor fore-aft metering movement thereof, said gate having asingle transverse metering slot, shorter than said discharge slot fordetermining the width of a relatively narrow line and Irv having,forwardly of said metering slot, a transversely elongated closure striphaving a fore-aft width suflicient to cover said discharge slot whensaid gate is adjusted to a rearward wide-stream metering position, saidclosure strip having a forward margin operative as a metering edge inopposed, variably spaced relation to the forward edge of said dischargeslot for metering a y ide stream of said powder through the full lengthof said discharge slot, with said closure strip moving forwardly toclose down said discharge slot and rearwardly to open up said dischargeslot; actuating means for moving said gate in fore-aft meteringmovement; said means for transmitting movements from said actuatingmeans to said gate, in cluding adjustable means for positioning saidgate selectively in said rearward position, for said wide-streammetering operation, or in a forward, narrow-stream metering positionwherein said closure strip is disposed largely forwardly of saiddischarge slot in all positions of said narrow-stream metering, the rearedge of said metering slot then being in opposed variably spacedrelation to the forward edge of said discharge slot to define a meteringaperture for narrow-stream flow, the body of said gate rearwardly ofsaid metering slot then functioning for closing down said meteringaperture upon moving forwardly and for opening up said aperture uponmoving rearwardly, and said gate having side portions at respective endsof said metering slot, covering the ends of said discharge aperture soas to restrict the width of the stream to the length of said meteringslot, thereby to provide the narrow-stream flow.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

